Ukraine is stepping up pressure on the West to seize frozen Russian assets, especially after Donald Trump was re-elected as US president. According to the Washington Post, Ukraine hopes that President Donald Trump’s business mindset and his influence in Europe will help push the decision.
After the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022, the West froze about $300 billion in assets of the Russian Central Bank. Although profits from these assets are being used to guarantee a $50 billion loan to Ukraine from the G7, most Western countries have been hesitant to seize them outright, fearing legal consequences and a loss of confidence in the Western financial system.
However, Kiev believes that President Donald Trump can turn things around. According to Ms. Irina Mudra, Deputy Head of the Office of Ukrainian President Zelensky, Mr. Trump is able to convince hesitant European countries because “they know he is not joking”.
Mr. Zelensky even proposed a “deal” to Mr. Trump: If the US agreed to seize Russia’s $300 billion, Ukraine would use all of this money to buy American weapons.
In a recent interview, the Ukrainian president stressed: "I told President Trump, take that money… and we will buy all the weapons from the United States. That will be very good for your defense industry."
Analysts say the proposal could appeal to Trump, who has consistently put America’s interests first and repeatedly called for cuts in foreign aid. “This is a clear trade-off,” said Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute. “Trump could use it to pressure Europe to agree if they want the United States to continue supporting Ukraine.”
While the Biden administration has been cautiously supportive, Mr Trump’s stance remains an unknown. Several EU countries, including Germany, France and Belgium, want to keep the blockade in place to use as leverage in future negotiations with Russia.
Russia has repeatedly condemned the move to freeze Western assets, calling it "theft." The Kremlin has also warned that if the West actually seizes the money, Russia may respond by seizing Western countries' assets in Russia.
